Homemade Lemon Detergent

Lemon is one of the most beloved fruits and has many uses, from food to homemade cleaning products. For some time we've been trying to figure out how to make dishwasher detergent with lemon. We finally managed to make a wonderful recipe! Totally natural, free of chemical powders and dubious additives. Only bears ingredients that came from nature and that can return to the land without causing pollution.

The recipe is quite simple. As usual, it takes 3 ingredients (besides water, in the case).

Ingredients

1. Lemon: 4 medium lemons 
2. White vinegar: 120ml
3. Sea salt: 250g

It took 700ml of water and at the end we got 1100ml of detergent. 

Why These Ingredients?

Lemon: the citric acid is a degreaser and cleans mineral deposits. This is ideal for those who live in limestone areas! The lemon peel also has antibacterial properties and the white pith contains pectin, a natural thickening agent that will give a gel texture to the detergent.

White vinegar: contains acetic acid that helps to degrease the dishes and soften hard water.

Sea salt: acts like a preservative and cleaning agent.

How To Do It?

1. Cut for 4 lemons into pieces with peel included (only remove the seeds).
2. Put the lemon pieces in a pan and add 300ml of water.
3. Turn on low heat to simmer slowly for 20 minutes. Stir until lemon becomes tender and water thick.
4. Let the mixture cool slightly, place it in the blender and add 400ml of water. Blend on high speed until it looks creamy. 
5. Strain the mixture back into the pan until only the pulp is left. 
6. Add 120ml of vinegar and 250g of sea salt. Combine.
7. Turn on low heat again for another 15 minutes and stir until the mixture is thick. 
8. Let it cool and keep in a jar.

Since it gives a great amount of detergent, it should be kept in the refrigerator to prolong shelf life. To use it, you can take a bit with a spoon and put it in the sponge or in the detergent compartment of the washing machine.

In this recipe, no saponification reaction product is used, so the detergent does not foam but cleans as well was a normal detergent. It has a genuine smell and is another homemade product that avoids the use and waste of packaging. In addition, it is cheaper than chemical detergents because the amount it returns is large and the cost is low. In our case, we only bought salt and vinegar that costs just a few cents and can be used several times for a long time. Is it worth it, or not? :)

When making natural products at home, never forget to check if you have allergies to the ingredients of each recipe.

Video - Homemade Lemon Detergent